La ilah illa / Allah wahdahu / la sharik lahu ("There is no God but Allah alone, no partner to him”) // Muhammad / rasūl Allāh / Amin al-Milla / [Mahmud] ("Muhammad is the messenger of God, Guardian of the Faith, Mahmud”). 9mm, 0.46 grams. Uncertain mint (Ghazni?). Fishman/Todd "The Silver Damma" #GH6.

Ghazna type, issued directly under the Ghaznavid Sultan. The name of Mahmud is off-flan on this coin, but it is his type.

Mahmud of Ghazni (r. 998–1030 CE) was the most celebrated ruler of the Ghaznavid Empire, transforming it into a major power stretching from Iran and Central Asia to northwestern India. Renowned as both a military commander and patron of learning, he launched numerous campaigns into the Indian subcontinent, greatly expanding his empire and accumulating immense wealth. His court at Ghazni became a flourishing center of Persian culture, attracting scholars such as Ferdowsi and Al-Biruni. Mahmud is remembered as one of the most influential Islamic rulers of the early medieval period and for establishing Ghazni as a leading political and cultural capital.